The Tight Route

Drivers dread tight routes.  A tight route is one that is known to "run down" which means taking more time than allotted to complete.  A route can be tight for several reasons. The most obvious reasons are traffic, a great distance to travel, detours, passenger volume, or difficult passengers.

Though it was a beautiful spring day I reported shyly and more than a bit nervous for my first notoriously tight route. As a cadet making a good first impression with the senior driver was important to me. The senior driver for this tight route had the swagger and bravado of someone who revels in a challenge. I quietly consoled myself with the thought that on a weekend maybe I as a cadet could keep the route on time. Before we start the bus he quips, "This route has gotten heavy, even Saturdays." My face betrayed my concern.

He smiles and says, "I talks junk to everbody."   I grinned the rest of the day as his dry wit and obvious joy in interacting with passengers, which kept me entertained even when we were running down.  He is a tall, broad-shouldered black man who lights up when engaged in a verbal tussle.  I wanted him to like me but I came to find out he likes everybody.  It is the secret to his success.  A survival skill on a tight route that can easily frustrate passengers and drivers alike.

At 8am he drove the first run so I could see the stops and turns.  We started the route way far north of the city and had 30 minutes to get downtown on busy thoroughfares.   I took the wheel at 9am with trepidation about the demands of the day ahead.   That second run was the only run I completed on time that day.  Being a rookie is hard on my ego.  Luckily I had a good-natured and seasoned driver to help me keep things in perspective.  He at least enjoyed my anguish.

At 10am on the third run, he says "You smell something? It stinks in here."   I had yet to catch a whiff of what he was picking up on.   Not 15 minutes later a warning light comes on about the buses exhaust system.  He radios for a replacement bus.  Switching buses gets us behind just as traffic is about to pick up.  The tight run had just gotten trickier due to the bus change.  That was the first time that "P1" had to help us get back on time.  P1 is a minibus that plugs routes that are running down.

Now it is noon, we are back on time thanks to P1 and driving a new bus.  I wonder about a break and getting something to eat as the traffic builds.  This route has a left turn across a busy 2 lane thoroughfare.   The senior driver is almost jubilant to share the pain of waiting for what feels like an eternity for the traffic to clear enough for us to safely make that left turn.  Just as I think my opportunity has come, "watch those cars jumpin' or' that hill," he says as he accurately describes the traffic pattern.  We finally turn but have lost precious time.  I marvel at how well he knows this route and I am humbled by his ability to keep it on time.

At 2 o'clock I am so far behind that P1 needs to catch us up again.  This time we sit for 15 minutes while P1 works.  We sit so the schedule for our inbound trip will be correct.  While we wait I realize I finally have a chance to go to the bathroom.   I run over to a fast food place to use the facilities.  It strikes me that I am not the only hungry person on the bus so I buy 4 cheeseburgers.  The senior driver and the 2 passengers who are waylayed with us are amazed.   The food lightens the mood as we finally get underway. 

When 4:30 finally arrives I am exhausted and stunned by the difference in skill and experience between me, the cadet, and he, the senior driver.   His composure and willingness to teach impress upon me a desire to master driving skills in spite of the stress of a tight run.  It left me wondering about how easy it is to misjudge the abilities of others because of the temptation to look down on their work.   

License to Drive

Phew!  I was nervous this morning about taking the final test for my Commercial Drivers License (CDL) Class B, with a Passenger endorsement.

The CDL exam begins with the driver providing a detailed pre-trip inspection of the bus.  It moves to the passenger compartment, then the driver compartment inspection. Next comes testing of the air-brakes.

If you pass those obstacles, you move to the driving test on a closed course which involves straight-line backing, off-set backing, and docking in an alley.  Not easy.

Then the final nerve-racking part...driving on the open road while the examiner gives you every imaginable tough situation to drive through, including a pedestrian wandering absentmindedly in front of the bus. What a relief to have passed!

I have a new appreciation and respect for how bus drivers keep the public safe.

Want to ride with me?

I will be updating my schedule on this public calendar.

Behind the Wheel

This is a video of our maiden voyages behind the wheel of a bus.

Becoming a "Busologist"

My classmate came up with a new word to describe me, "bus-ologist."   In the video, he gives an explanation.

The first 3 weeks of training have flown by.   Still waiting to get behind the wheel!

Defensive Driving

The tenets of defensive driving apply to life. In class, we are learning four trademarked phrases to remind bus drivers how to prevent accidents.  They are "look ahead, look around, leave room, and communicate."

To look ahead is to identify and anticipate potential hazards on the road. In life, it means to have vision for where you want to spend your time and energy while steering clear of pitfalls.

Switching jobs has prompted folks to ask about my vision.  They are quick to point out the potential hazards of driving a bus like pay, insurance, and schedule.  They see the risk of crashes and the harsh side of customer service. My heart sees something different.

My heart sees the words from Isaiah 58. Below is a sample from verse 10.

If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.

I hope to address the other tenets of defensive driving in future posts.  Do you think looking around means checking in on loved ones?  Is leaving room about setting boundaries and creating margin in your life?

I am learning that communicating through this blog helps me understand this new season of life.  I hope to hear your thoughts in the comments below.

Take 1

A brief video born out of my excitement to start bus driver training this morning.

CDL permit

To drive a bus you need a Commerical Drivers Licence (CDL) Class B with a "P" for passenger endorsement.  To get a CDL you have to pass written, medical and skill tests.  The first stop is the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to take tests for a learners permit.

Hanging around at the DMV is quite the experience. After 3 trips I became acquainted with the staff and relieved to receive the permit.  New jobs are stressful in ways we don't expect. I witnessed test anxiety and hope others find ways to clear this written hurdle.

To prepare for the written test I read the manual, took a practice test and finally discovered the app.  After my initial failure, a DMV staff asked if I had "seen the app?" which turned out to be a Godsend.   Air brakes, combination vehicles, passenger safety is all new to me; the app is a test simulator which helped me pass on my second attempt. I took a third trip to the DMV because the second visit was too close to quitting time and didn't leave enough time for the paperwork.

At my final DMV visit,  I was left wondering whether the $64 dollars required for the permit would be a barrier for potential drivers.  While joyously leaving, an acquaintance waiting in the lobby asked me for the $2 he was short to get an ID and I easily shared it with him.  It saddens me to think of how something as simple as a $13 ID can be a roadblock for many. 

The medical test must be conducted by a licensed "medical examiner" who in my case was a Nurse Practitioner (NP) at an Occupational Medicine Clinic. Medical exams are required every 24 months to renew your CDL.  Eavesdropping in the waiting room I realized it was full of truck drivers and the nurse who took my vital signs said drivers are the bulk of their business.

The young NP who conducted my exam reassured me that the red patch in my eye was probably due to strain from the race I ran the previous week.  She was not concerned about the eye, but remarked that not many of her CDL exams are with 50k runners.  I passed the medical exam with flying colors.

New drivers get 8 weeks of training to pass the skill tests. I am confident that this training will afford many more humbling failures as well as the gratification of learning new skills.

His eye is on the sparrow

And I know he watches me.  If you don't know this beautiful song then listen to Abigail Washburn sing it. 

Doing community engagement allows you to meet folks and hear stories that give hope in the face of hardship.  Keena's story has the grit that makes her voice as a community health educator grounded in experience. This picture of her reminds us that doing health disparity work is being part of His redemptive work.

That gives me hope as I hit setbacks like not passing my initial CDL permit test.   No one likes to fail, but how we respond to failure is what marks our life.